Subject: Re: Diaspora, politics, and MI
To: Andrew Gillham <gillhaa@ghost.whirlpool.com>
From: Chris G Demetriou <Chris_G_Demetriou@ux2.sp.cs.cmu.edu>
List: current-users
Date: 09/19/1996 10:55:03
> WRT to MD code being implemented, or maybe just "poorly thought out" MD
> code, my /usr/src/arch/i386/isa has: ahc_isa.c

	which is a VLB card, and therefore _can't_ be used on other systems.

> fd.c

	which uses the PC bios directly (yes, it should be split up
	into a chip driver but hasn't yet).
	 
> joy.c

	no other hardware would want the PC joystick interface.
	I don't think you'll find many takers on that.  8-)

	(I dunno, this may be shareable, but it's a PC motherboard
	thing, not really an ISA thing, isn't it?)

> lms.c mms.c
> pms.c

	The console interface, including mouse stuff, is currently
	machine-dependent.  These (at least pms; i'm not sure there's
	use in sharing the other two) should be shared in the long
	run though.

> and PCVT,

	same as lms/mms/pms, except more so.  I can't use this
	on e.g. the Alpha, because, well, i have more things than
	VGA as my console, and this just isn't suited for that world.

> which are all MD drivers for ISA devices that could just
> as easily live on a non-i386.

"wrong!"  see above.

> What is wrong with having a 154X driver
> in arch/i386/isa?

ahc_isa.c isn't a 154x driver, nor is it 'really' an ISA driver.


Care to come up with some more examples?  8-)


It's worth noting that, in the long run, i would like to see machines
share a common console interface, but that's a long, hard road, and
there's a long way to travel on it before we'll be there.


chris